From Sydney with love

Yay!

Face Hunter is in Sydney... the spacey fashion, the eerie trees, the relaxed, warm weather.




Link: Face Hunter in Sydney

Bois Blond, Parfumerie Generale (limited edition)

I wore Bois Blond for months. Just to get me through. And I believed - because it was so good - I believed the man behind Parfumerie Generale, Pierre Guillaume, had trained as a winemaker.

Well, I was wrong. So why did I believe this? I don't know whether the sales person had told me this...

Or was it the deep woody, sherry, cognac notes I find in their perfumes? Like a bourbon barrel from Kentucky gives a sherry edge to some Scottish whisky.

Not only that, but the perfumes are numbered without names; just like bin vats for wine barrels in the winery.

Ah well.

I wrote to PG about the wine connection and this is my delightful response:

The father of Mr Guillaume he is a wine collector and as a child PG visit a lot a Chateaux in Bordelais, Bourgogne and Midi of France with his father to discover and taste Wine culture... He share the passion of his father but, never "work" himself in wine making.
For information, Mr Guillaume is crazy about woody and oriental note and he's always working on it a lot, trying to discover newones...
He also use a lot of ingredients usually found in food aroma, not only in perfumes.
Bois Blond, it is a fragrance of sunny woods with memories of summer dusks, awaiting the summer monsoons.

This is a limited edition perfume, so get your hands on it (if you can). It's like suddenly finding your own space in the peak-hour crowds. The country in the city. Or a ray of sunshine coming out just the moment you walk outside for your break.

Link: Parfumerie Generale

what to drink during a financial crisis

"My clients' enquiries: "Which wine is best to numb the pain and transport you most effectively from your woes?" What, for example, might the chief executive of the world's fourth-largest investment bank pull up from his cellar, dizzy, reeling and nauseous, knowing that the jobs of 24,000 employees, a proud 158-year commercial history, over $600 billion and the reputation of an entire profession were about to go up in smoke?"

I'd recommend a white wine from the south of France. A Picpoul de Pinet around £4 a bottle.

Or better yet, crunch the credit card and buy a serious Champagne. One that asks questions and gives pause to reflect.



Link: What to drink during a financial crisis

Diana Vreeland in her wonderful Garden in Hell

At the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Hayward Gallery was an interview of Diana Vreeland in her apartment. Extraordinary.

Talking from her sofa in her Fifth Avenue apartment - decorated as a"Garden of Hell" - she talks to an academic about how she was the last person to see the Mona Lisa before it was stolen at the Lourve.

A fascinating conversation with many other superb anecdotes.


Link: Andy Warhol, Other Voices Other Rooms at the Hayward Gallery

Bowmore 16 year old 1990

Let me share with you my tasting notes. Although, as the tasting progressed, they look less like notes and more like boozy heiroglyphics.

Starting out with calm, triple-distilled lowland single malts and irish blends, the day ended with some unrestrained darkness from the island of Islay.

What I wrote for the final Islay whisky, Bowmore 16 year old 1990 (53.4% alc):

"Like being violently dumped by a grey Atlantic wave face first on a rock pool covered with barnacles, waking up a few seconds later to cough out sea-water, seaweed and splinters of charred plank."

After some pause, my tutor decided to accept my note, "Ok, that's pretty much it. Great, isn't it?"

Yes, no doubt. But, by then, the fumes had curled up into my brain. Hanging on the wall, water colour paintings of Islay distilleries by the "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" artist, Ralph Steadman.

When I first arrived and saw them in the tasting room, I found it hard to believe an artist inextricably linked with Hunter S. Thompson could paint a landscape so lunar quiet.

But after a day of tasting Scotch, the hushed washed-out colours now made a lot of sense... as in the bottle, the expression of the land.



Link: Ralph Steadman's trip to Scottish distilleries blog

Brian Eno: the key to a long life

"I believe singing is the key to a long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, greater intelligence, new friends, increased self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a sense of humour. There! That got your attention."


– Brian Eno

Link: Ode Magazine, Freestyling

Castello di Ama: chianti, architecture and art

Nestled in the commune of Gaiole in Chianti, in the province of Siena, lies one of the most beautiful modern wineries I have ever seen.

The premier Chianti Classico estate, made of mirror, is a modern building, not beautiful in itself. What makes it beautiful is the idea it reflects along with the non-stop undulating olive-clad hills and vineyards.

The building becomes a complete merging of the Chianti landscape into the winery.

Apart from the inspired architecture, it is also home to an excellent collection of contemporary art. Owners Marco Pallanti and Lorenza Sebasti showcase their wines amongst music and art works.

"An important work of art will live on through time and will always have something to relate to the viewer, just as a good bottle of wine will age with style, harmony and balance, and still communicate its unique history..." (from Decanter Magazine).

Metaphorically, Chianti di Ami's architecture is the greatest expression of terroir I have ever seen: where the land reflects itself through the winery, and finally, expressing itself in the glass.

Bellissimo.

Link: Castello di Ama

crisp

Link: All things Quentin Crisp

Marchesa Luisa Casati

"With her pet cheetah on a diamond-studded leash, her Lalique flask of Absinthe and tendency to go out in little else than a fur coat, it’s not surprising the Italian aristocrat caused a sensation from Paris to Hollywood during the 1920s..." from La Vie on Rose blog

All the stock market schadenfraude makes me wonder: maybe we have just been through the equivalent of the decadent 1920s? Maybe it's history repeating. And then, there's the unrepeatable and unique... the Marchesa Luisa Casati.

After a life of parties at her home Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on Grand Canal in Venice, after patronising the major artists of the time, she had amassed a personal debt of $25 million. To satisfy her creditors, all her possessions were auctioned. In the bid room, Coco Chanel.

The Marchesa fled to London, where she lived in comparative poverty."She was rumoured to be seen rummaging in bins searching for feathers to decorate her hair."

She died in London in 1957, buried amongst the illustrious dead at Brompton Cemetery. The epigraph on her tombstone is from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety."

"She was buried wearing not only her black and leopardskin finery but a pair of false eyelashes."

Link: quotes from Wiki article, Marchesa Luisa Casati

I sit by the window

I said fate plays a game without a score,
and who needs fish if you've got caviar?
The triumph of the Gothic style would come to pass
and turn you on--no need for coke, or grass.
I sit by the window. Outside, an aspen.
When I loved, I loved deeply. It wasn't often.

....

Link: Part of I sit by the window, Joseph Brodsky

"Perfumes to evoke memories" (Canadian interview)

Warning:
may want to translate the perfume's name
before splashing on...

Much fun had last week when Mz Harris interviewed me for her great article published across Canada - Perfumes to evoke memories - about the trend for some perfumes to smell like a specific time, place or experience.

Something close to my heart and, I know from your lovely emails, for many other Wine Woman Song readers.

Here is my original post about the terrifying memory recall I had when trying on the perfume Secretions Magnifique in the perfume department of Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge. Yes, a strange experience.


Link: Perfumes to evoke memories article

cruel summer: Burgundy 08

"No decent Chablis this year? Time to rob some banks..."

Another cruel summer in Burgundy. Now it's gone.

If you see a lonely White Burgundy on the shelf from the 2005 vintage - snap it up.

The next best are 2006s.

They're not good, but they're not bad. Steer clear from the fat 2003s. If you remember, that's the heatwave year when not only the vines, but people, died.

Chablis needs its mineral, crystalline architecture of acid to get to its great heights. And that only happens when the fruit is not overripe and swollen by heat-loving sugar.

For those with moxie, pick these vineyards for 2006 Chablis - in a few years, once everyone realises the poor 2007 and 2008 vintages, you may need to rob banks to buy them:

Grand Cru

Les Vaudesirs
Les Grenouilles
Les Clos

Premier Cru

Les Montmains
La Montee-de-Tonnerre
Les Vaillons

R.I.P. Didier Dagueneau

A black hole in the wine world with the sudden death of the great Didier Dagueneau; he crashed his microlite in the Dordogne on Wednesday.

As Jancis Robinson initially posted, somehow it seems like a fitting way to go for such an adventurous person. Still, what a great loss.

As I wrote only a few weeks ago, he was one of the great eccentrics of the wine world...

R.I.P.


Link: Didier Dagueneau dies in Decanter Magazine
Link: Eccentric Winemaker Series, Pt 1: Didier Dagueneau, the wild man of Pouilly

shadow world

Sun Ra Arkestra "Shadow World" West Berlin


Link: A space odyssey via Astralis and Sun Ra

champagne and real pain

"Captains of industry, great generals, artists of genius, even politicians, are often just people who have discovered that alcohol can enable them to make economic, tactical, creative, or political decisions whose implications would paralyze a sober individual." – John More, in sub-TERRAIN

Finest example: Winston Churchill.

Pol Roger released Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Pol Roger Vintage Champagne in 1984 to recognise Churchill's attachment to Pol Roger, who "insisted on enjoying the wine at the most dangerous and dark periods of wartime".

My observation is Pol Roger is not as well-known the LVMH (Moet, etc) champagnes; Vintage Pol Roger, even less so, but preferred by people who have drunk too much Veuve Clicquot in their life.


Link: Sir Winston Churchill and Pol Roger

Eccentric Winemaker series, Pt 4: Lalou Bize-Leroy, Burgundy

astrological principles guide the world's most illustrious winemaker, Lalou Bize-Leroy

"Wine is from a cosmic inspiration, it has the taste of the world matter." - Lalou Bize-Leroy

Lalou Bize-Leroy is the person behind some of the most expensive, sought-after, imitated and adored wines in the world.

Her Burgundies are breathtaking, ethereal and out-of-this world.

Yet she has to be one of the most idiosyncratic and eccentric winemakers on the planet. Lauded by her critics, shunned by her neighbours, loved by her buyers and collectors.

Controversially, Lalou manages her wine on horoscopes and phases of the moon - she is one of the first exponents of bio-dynamic management of wine based on a cosmic, Steiner philosophy.

Madame Bize Leroy doesn't just think big, she thinks cosmically big. And let's the rest of the world catch up.

You may not believe in it, you may not understand it, but she must be doing something right. You don't get a page of superlative praise from the world's biggest wine critics for no reason:

"the greatest domaines of Burgundy today must be those under the control of Lalou Bize. The sheer concentration, depth and intensity Lalou Bize manages to squeeze into her bottles is breathtaking" - Clive Coates

"Lalou Bize-Leroy stands alone at the top of Burgundy's quality hierarchy. Because she is a perfectionnist, and because she has had the courage to produce wines from low yield and bottle them naturally, without fining or filtration." - Robert Parker Jr

"Lalou seeks a degree of purity, allied to extraordinary concentration, that is almost unmatched by any other producer." - Matt Kramer

What you need to know

Name: Madame Lalou Bize Leroy

Winery: proprietor of Domaine d'Auvenay and Domaine Leroy, Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy, France

Interesting fact: Lalou was instrumental in developing the world's most sought after domaine, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. That is, until she was booted out by her sister after a disagreement about marketing. Again, a family dispute in Burgundy changes the face of wine in the region (perhaps this is why it is so difficult to keep track, and understand, Burgundy).

Link: Domaine Leroy

This is England

One year in London to the day.

"Posh Dinosaur" (an advertisement on TV here) sums up my experience in the wine industry here quite neatly, thank you very much.

If you would be so kind as to watch it I'd be ever so pleased.

Splendid. Wonderful.

Much love, xjmd

Eccentric Winemaker series, Pt 3: Anne Gros, Burgundy

Now, you may think, why Anne Gros? She is certainly not as outlandish as the previous two winemakers I have featured in Wine, Woman and Song's Eccentric Winemaker series.

This is true. She is from a historic Burgundian family stretching back to the 1830s, making wines in the blue-blooded part of Burgundy, Vosne-Romanée.

Yet, there is something unique about Anne Gros. To be an eccentric you must dance to the beat of your own drum. Anne Gros is certainly doing something different, right under the noses of the the old guard.

In an extremely traditional area such as Burgundy, even the most imperceptible tremors and changes result in huge waves.

Just look at her label. It's modern - blue! - no fancy script or complex descriptions of proprietors over the vineyard name. It clearly states the region and the Domaine name. How different it looks compared to the traditional Burgundy bottles.

To the wine itself: her wines are lightly filtered; unfashionable at the moment. They are unashamedly feminine. Arguably, most wines from Burgundy are perfumed, but her wines are even more like an eau de parfum on the wrist evolving over a long, slow day.

Do I have to say it, yes, she is a woman. In a man's world. I know how it feels to be often the only woman in the wine industry. It's weird. By default, it is unusual in itself to be a grand winemaker in a male industry.

However, French wine's great ambassadors traditionally have been women. Just look at Veuve Clicquot (widow Clicquot) and Lalou Bize-Leroy. It's important, yet, I don't want to emphasise it too much; then again, I don't think it should be totally dismissed, either.

All in all, amongst the rows of traditional Burgundy on the shelf, her blue-labelled wines stand out. Modern, idiosyncratic wines that tell a story - not only of the changing face of Burgundy, but also, her very interesting story - her wine - unfolding in your glass.

What you need to know

Name: Anne Gros
Winery: Domaine Anne Gros
Where: Estate in Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy, France
Stand outs: Bourgogne under £20 is difficult to come by; her Bourgogne is one of the best value wines in this difficult price range.

Wines: Concoeur (Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Rouge & Blanc); Vosne-Romanée Les Champs d'argent (Bourgogne, Rouge & Blanc), Les Glapigne (Bourgogne, Rouge & Blanc), Les Pasquiers (Bourgogne, Rouge & Blanc), Les Barreaux Le Richebourg Grand Cru; Flagey-Echezeaux, Echezeaux Grand Cru; Chambolle-Musigny, La Combe d'Orveau; Clos Vougeot, Le Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru.

Next post:

Pt 4: Lalou Bize Leroy, Burgundy

Previous posts:
Pt 2: Sparky Marquis and the Carnival of Love
Pt 1: Didier Dagueneau

Website: Domaine Anne Gros

Eccentric Winemaker series, Pt 1: Didier Dagueneau, the wild man of Pouilly

""You idiot" are Didier Dagueneau's first words to me....

I ask him why he chose Sauvignon Blanc to work with – "you don't even ask yourself the question," he says. "I had a few scores to settle with the family, so I decided to make wine, to make better wine than them. That was my first motivation. So I decided to make the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. Not at all pretentious for someone who's been making wine for two years."
- Decanter magazine

You need strong opinions to break through traditions in the Loire, the classical heartland of France.

Known as the "Wild Man of Pouilly", Didier has been breaking conventions in the Loire for so long now it doesn't really matter what people say - he's now the benchmark for Sauvignon blanc around the world.

The Blanc Fume de Pouilly (above) is the entry level Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Pur Sang (label shown below) and then the benchmark for Sauvignon blanc (and you could argue, the Pouilly-fume region): Silex - named after the excellent slate soils.

The wine to covet? Asteroide; like it's namesake, it only comes around every so often. From a micro 10-vine plot on non-grafted vines, they are so fragile they need constant supervision and love.

If you can find these wines... lucky you; as you can imagine demand is high. And output is low. Not because Dagueneau is cynically playing the market and withholding wines, but because he is a total perfectionist. Slowly horse-tilling the vineyard so tractors don't compact the soil and hurt the vines... and the wine. And you imagine, in turn, his soul.


What you need to know

Name: Didier Dagueneau

From: Saint-Andelain, Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, France.

Style of wine: dry white wine but using oak.

Entry level wines: En Chailloux, a blend from several vineyards and then, Buisson Menard

Superstar wines: both single vineyard wines and barrel fermented (unusual for Sauvignon blanc in most parts of the world) - Silex, and Pur Sang (french for thoroughbred; the vineyard is horse-tilled).

Strange fact: the front of the winery has a clock with a provocative gesture as the hands of the clock - a message to his neighbours and critics, perhaps? Excellent. Is he Mad man or genius?

Link: Eccentric Winemaker Series

Next link: Part 2: Sparky Marquis and the Carnival of Love

5 eccentric winemakers you need to know

So, you thought the wine industry was stuffy and full of pretensious tossers who like to say Claret instead of red Bordeaux? Well, you may have something there, but not everybody fits this depressing stereotype.

Especially, the artists behind the wine: the wine makers.

There's not much pretense with the wine makers I have chosen to feature everyday over the next week. No pretense to tradition, no pretense to politeness and definitely no pretense to slavishly follow the market.

Initially lambasted, against the odds, these wines have become benchmarks in their own right.

I hope you can join me.

Starts Monday 1 September, 2008.